Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) Shares Bought by Eastern Bank

Eastern Bank raised its position in Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) by 151.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,161 shares of the healthcare product maker’s stock after buying an additional 48,300 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $9,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABT. Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Abbott Laboratories in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 75.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Raymond James reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $129.00 target price (up previously from $122.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $130.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $143.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $129.67.

Insider Transactions at Abbott Laboratories

In other news, CEO Robert B. Ford sold 141,679 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.41, for a total transaction of $16,492,852.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 220,059 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,617,068.19. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

NYSE ABT traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $116.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,359,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,723,262. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $91.64 and a 1-year high of $121.64. The company has a market cap of $201.95 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day moving average of $114.16 and a 200-day moving average of $108.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.01. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 13.65% and a return on equity of 20.18%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Abbott Laboratories’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.54%.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Ménière’s disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon.